years (age)

In Aekyom, years are counted as “turtles” (ambum).

Norm Mundhenk tells this story:

“Recently I was checking some New Testament material in the Aekyom language of western Papua New Guinea. It seemed relatively clear until suddenly we came to a passage that started, ‘When Jesus had 12 turtles, …’ Surely I had misunderstood what they said.
“‘Did you say that Jesus had 12 turtles?’
“‘Let us explain! Around here there is a certain time every year when river turtles come up on the banks and lay their eggs. Because this is so regular, it can be used as a way of counting years. Someone’s age is said to be how many turtles that person has. So when we say that Jesus had 12 turtles, we mean that Jesus was 12 years old.’
“It was of course the familiar story of Jesus’ trip with his parents to Jerusalem. And certainly, as we all know, Jesus did indeed have 12 turtles at that time!”

In Tok Pisin, krismas (derived from “christmas”) is taken as the fixed annual marker, so Jesus had 12 “christmases” (Jisas i gat 12-pela krismas pinis) or Abram (in Gen. 12:4) had 75 (Abram i gat 75 krismas) (source: Norm Mundhenk). In Noongar it is biroka kadak or “summers had” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

See also advanced in years.

widow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow.” (Source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.)

The etymological meaning of the Hebrew almanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greek chéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the English widow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).

See also widows.

complete verse (1 Timothy 5:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 5:9:

  • Uma: “The widows who can have their names entered in the book of widows, are only ones like this: their age is not less than sixty years, they have been married only once.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, about the widows, list the widows who are soon to be helped by the ones who trust in Isa Almasi. List only the widows whose lives are more than sixty years and have had only one husband.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Do not list a widow woman under the age of sixty. It is necessary that she did not commit adultery against her husband.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The widows that you list, they must be sixty and more years old and have gotten-married only once.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And now concerning the list of those widow women who have a responsibility/job in her group of believers, only include those who are old now being sixty years of age already, who haven’t divorced their husband.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “On the list of widows appointed to help at the church, there should be only the widows who are over sixty years old. And only one husband did they live with.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Timothy 5:9 – 5:10

Specific requirements for the enrollment of widows are now set forth.

The verb for enrolled means to put the name of someone on a list in order to be identified as a member of a particular group. Only those who are enrolled as real widows will be entitled to receive material support from the Christian community. Another way to translate this clause is “Do not write down the name of a widow in the list of widows unless….” In languages that do not have a word for “list,” one may say, for example, “Do not count a widow as one who should receive financial help unless….”

The possibility has also been suggested by some scholars that there existed in the early church an office of widows, some functions of which are mentioned in verse 10. If this is the case, then the enrollment is not only to entitle these widows to receive support from the church, but also to give them the right to function as church leaders. However, the right to receive financial aid would still be the chief reason to enroll widows. In certain languages one may restructure this first sentence; for example, “When a widow is sixty years of age, you may add her to the list of widows.”

In order to ensure that the list of real widows is as accurate as possible, certain criteria are set forth. The first criterion pertains to age: she must be at least sixty years old. Reasons for not including younger widows in the list are indicated later (verses 11-16).

The next criterion pertains to the widow’s relationship with her husband. As indicated by the presence of a footnote in Good News Translation, the Greek text can be interpreted in at least two different ways. Literally the Greek text can be translated “the wife of one husband.” Does this mean that she is married only once (Good News Translation; compare Jerusalem Bible “who has had only one husband”) or that, regardless of the times she had gotten remarried, she has always been faithful to whatever husband she had? In other words, is the focus here on the number of husbands (one) or faithfulness in the marriage relationship? Having had only one husband seems to be the more logical choice and is in fact followed by most translations.

A third qualification is that she must be well attested for her good deeds. Attested comes from the same word that is usually translated “witness” or “testify,” here used in the sense of receiving a good report, that is, of people speaking well of her and regarding her very favorably because of what she is doing. A modern way of expressing this is to say that she has a good reputation (Good News Translation) or is well known (New International Version) for her deeds. Other ways of rendering this are “other people attest to the fact that she does all sorts of good deeds” or “other people say that she is a good person.”

What follows are some of the good deeds that the widow should have been involved in. There are some things that should be noticed in the Greek text. First, the construction is such that a list of activities is intended. The first four in the list are specific activities, whereas the last one sounds much more like a generic statement that sums up all the other activities not included under any of the first four activities mentioned. Secondly, the tense of the verbs in the series is aorist, which means that these activities have been completed in the past and most possibly are not continuing in the present. This is understandable, since many of these activities involve expending material resources that a widow in her destitute condition would not be able to afford.

The first good deed mentioned is that of bringing up children. The Greek here consists of one compound verb that combines “child” with “bring up” and means raising up a child to maturity by providing for all the child’s needs, both material and otherwise. The text does not say who these children are, but they are obviously her own, a fact that is made explicit in Good News Translation and many other translations. Furthermore, since the tense of the verse is aorist, this activity of bringing up children is a past one, and her ability to raise children well is shown by the quality of life that her children now live.

The second good deed is hospitality. The Greek word combines “stranger” and “receive,” hence Good News Translation “received strangers in her home.” Here again the aorist tense of the verb indicates that this act of hospitality is an event in the past. A real widow would not be expected to welcome strangers into her home, since she would not have the means to provide for their needs. See 3.2 for comments on the translation of “hospitable.”

The third is washing the feet of the saints. Saints is a technical term for believers (literally “the holy ones”), hence “God’s people.” Washing the feet was an act performed on guests. At that time, when guests arrived their feet would be dirty from the dust of the road, and someone from the host’s household (usually a house servant or slave) would take off the guests’ sandals at the door and wash their feet. In the present context it is not at all certain whether this should be taken literally or figuratively. If literally, it would mean that the widow herself performed this lowly task of welcoming Christian guests by washing their dusty feet. If figuratively, it would mean that the widow “performed humble duties for fellow Christians” (Good News Translation). One advantage of this figurative understanding is that the widow’s deeds are not limited to the washing of the feet of Christian guests, but they include any lowly task that is done for members of the Christian community. A literal translation would of course be ambiguous and would tend to support a literal interpretation as well. If a figurative interpretation is opted for, it may be advisable to have a footnote indicating the literal rendition of the Greek and explaining what it is, and how it is related to the nonliteral translation. For most languages it will be helpful for translators to follow Good News Translation‘s model. Other ways of rendering this are “she did small jobs for other Christians,” “she helped her fellow Christians in the small ways,” or “she served other Christians just as if she was a servant (or, as a servant would serve).”

A fourth specific item is now mentioned, that of relieving the afflicted. The verb translated relieved can mean “to help” in a general sense, or in a more specific sense to supply the needs of someone, hence “to provide for,” “to support.” Afflicted translates a present passive participle from a verb that means “to press” or “to oppress,” “to cause someone to experience hardship and suffering.” The nature of the affliction or suffering is not mentioned; it is suggested by some interpreters that the trouble may be related to the persecution that Christians experience. But since there is no certainty in this regard, it is probably best to keep the generic sense here, as most translations have done; for example, Good News Translation “helped those in trouble,” New English Bible “supported those in distress.”

The conclusion of the series is a general statement: devoted herself to doing good in every way. The verb translated devoted herself is a compound form of the verb “to follow” and means to give or devote oneself wholeheartedly to something, hence New American Bible, Revised “involved herself.” See 4.15 for comments on devoted. Doing good in every way is literally “in every good deed”; this form is reflected in Barclay “good works of every kind” (see also Jerusalem Bible, New International Version). Revised Standard Version has changed the nominal expression into a verbal phrase (compare New English Bible “she has taken every opportunity of doing good”).

An alternative translation model for these two verses is:
• When a widow is sixty years of age, you may add her to the list of widows. However, she must have had only one husband, and other people must confirm that she had always done good deeds; for example, she raised her children well, she welcomed into her home Christians who were traveling, she served other Christians just as if she were a servant, and she helped people who were undergoing troubles. She must have given herself to doing good deeds of all kinds.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 Timothy 5:9

Paragraph 5:9–10

In this paragraph Paul told Timothy more about which widows the believers should care for.

Paul had previously stated some requirements for these widows, that is:

(a) they had to be without a family who could support them (5:5a)

(b) they had to be godly (5:5b and 5:5c)

But these were not the only requirements. In 5:9–10 Paul gave other requirements for widows. If they met those requirements, they could receive special care from the believers.

5:9a

A widow should be enrolled: In some languages it may be better to translate this as a direct active command:

Put on the list of widows [those widows who…]

A widow: In some languages it may be better to phrase this verse part negatively rather than positively; that is, to say which widows may not be put on the list for support. If this is true in you language, you could begin:

No widows should be enrolled who…

Paul was now only talking about those widows who had no family to help them.

should be enrolled: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as should be enrolled translates a Greek word that occurs only here in the New Testament. It means “enrolled, enlisted.” It seems that the believers kept a list of Christian widows. This was probably a list of the widows for whom the believers regularly provided. (The widows on this list probably did have a duty to spend their time serving people in special ways. Perhaps they did some of the things which Paul mentioned in 5:10a–f, such as raising children (perhaps orphans), showing hospitality, helping those in trouble, and doing other good deeds. Knight, pages 222 and 223, says, “So a church may have a list of elderly and godly widows who have no one else to care for them and who commit themselves to serving Christ. The church commits itself to assist these widows and in turn may ask them to perform certain tasks as need arises. Noting all the dimensions of this arrangement keeps one from drawing the false conclusion that the church does not help other widows who are either younger or who do not fully meet the requirements. But the passage does imply that the church enters into this permanent arrangement only with certain qualified widows and with mutually accepted commitments and possible responsibilities. Noting all the dimensions of the arrangement also guards against the erroneous conclusion that Paul is mandating a widows’ organization in the church. The teaching of the passage is, rather, that the church only provides for widows which families do not. Thus, where every widow is provided for by her family there is no need for such a list. If, however, there needs to be a list, these are the requirements.”)

enrolled: In some languages, the concept of enrolling widows on a list may be difficult to translate. If this is true in your language, you could try translating using an expression like:

should be included in the group of widows whom the believers regularly help

at least sixty years old: At the time when Paul wrote, people considered those who had reached sixty years of age to be old people. Women who were over sixty years old did not usually remarry.

5:9b

the wife of one man: This is the second condition that a widow had to meet before being added to the list of widows. The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the wife of one man can be understood in two ways:

(1) She should have had sexual relations only with her husband (or husbands) and no one else. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

faithful in marriage

(Contemporary English Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Living Translation (2004 Revision), New Century Version)

(2) She should have had only one husband her entire life, without ever remarrying. For example, the Good News Translation says:

she must have been married only once

(Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word) (See Kelly, page 116, for a defense of this second interpretation.)

In 5:14a Paul recommended that younger widows remarry, so interpretation (2) is less likely. Also, Paul used the same Greek expression here that he used in 3:2b (except that here he said “woman” instead of “man”). It is therefore recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.